5 Transformative Guided Meditations to Explore Panic and Anxiety

Discover five guided meditations designed to help reduce anxiety and soothe panic.

Words like unprecedented and uncertain have become commonplace over the past few years. Despite the fatigue that comes with dealing with uncertainty, it’s essential to recognize that we have all had to quickly adjust to new situations. Mindfulness can be a great ally in these times. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, consider these five guided meditations that can help ease anxiety and calm panic. 

5 Guided Meditations for Panic and Anxiety

1. A Meditation for Investigating Panic Attacks

1. First, give yourself a pat on the back for taking this time for meditation.
2. Notice your body and mind, including what you’re carrying emotionally. This might include feelings from recent events or everyday stressors.
3. Allow yourself to acknowledge your current feelings, letting them exist without trying to analyze them.
4. Shift your awareness to your breathing, letting it flow naturally. Pay attention as you inhale and exhale.
5. Focus your awareness either on your nostrils or your abdomen, based on your preference. If you’re focusing on the nostrils, note the air’s touch as you breathe in and out. If you’re focusing on your abdomen, observe how it expands with each inhale and contracts with each exhale.
6. As you breathe in and out, simply notice the sensation of each breath. Then gently shift your awareness from the breath to mindful exploration.
7. Engage in mindful inquiry to identify the emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations that are triggering your panic, anxiety, and fears, particularly those that may lie beneath your conscious awareness. This practice can lead to profound insights.
8. As you conduct this inquiry, direct your focus to the physical sensations of panic or fear. Be aware of these feelings without judgment, embracing whatever arises in your mind and body.
9. Start by checking in with yourself to see if you feel safe. If not, it might be better to pause and focus solely on breathing until you feel ready.
10. If you feel safe, open yourself to the sensations in your body and emotions. Simply notice and observe them without attempting to dissect or solve them.
11. You might find that within your feelings lie numerous thoughts, emotions, or past memories that contribute to your fears. Acknowledging what has been overlooked can pave the way for deeper understanding and insight. By facing your emotions, you’ll discover what is behind your panic or worries.
12. You may realize that resisting these unacknowledged emotions often increases panic or fear, while embracing them can lead to relief. To “go with it,” means permitting your mind and body to experience whatever feelings arise, similar to how the sky accommodates all weather patterns.
13. Now gently refocus on your breath, being mindful of the sensations of inhaling and exhaling… let your breath wash over you.
14. As this meditation concludes, take a moment to appreciate your efforts and feel the safety and tranquility you may have cultivated. By acknowledging your fears, you create the opportunity for understanding, compassion, and peace. Before getting up, gently wiggle your fingers and toes and gradually open your eyes, becoming fully present in the moment.
15. Send a wave of loving-kindness toward yourself. May I dwell in peace. May all beings dwell in peace.

2. A Meditation to Create Space Between You and Your Anxiety

1. When you’re ready, settle into a comfortable seated position. Let’s take a few breaths. Feel your feet grounding into the floor beneath you. Notice how your body connects with the chair or cushion. Allow yourself to relax and feel the weight of your body sinking down. Let’s take some deeper breaths. If you’re feeling anxious already, try extending your exhales. Take a long, deep breath in, then emphasize a slow exhale.
2. Reflect on your feelings at this moment. If you’re experiencing anxiety now, that’s a chance to practice. If not, think of a recent situation that triggered feelings of fear, anxiety, worry, or discomfort. Recall that moment, and notice if anxious thoughts start to arise and any related sensations in your body.
3. Widen your focus. Before diving deeper into the anxiety, let’s broaden our attention. Here’s where we can apply A.W.E. (And What Else?). Acknowledge your current anxiety, but shift your attention to the general environment.
4. Open your eyes and look around. If your eyes are shut, please open them and take in your surroundings. Notice three things you see—these can be neutral or pleasant items like flowers or pictures. Mentally describe their colors, shapes, and textures to yourself.
5. Next, notice the sounds in your environment. After recognizing three visual elements, turn your focus to hearing. Listen for three distinct sounds, whether they’re near or distant. Favor soothing or neutral sounds, and describe them in your mind: notice their quality, tone, and how they come and go.
6. Now let’s shift to taste. This might be slightly more difficult, but notice if you can sense any flavor in your mouth. Maybe from something you consumed before starting this meditation? Toothpaste? Just acknowledge what you’re tasting.
7. Next, focus on your sense of smell. Take a deep breath here and see if you can detect any aromas nearby. Notice how these scents can change with each inhale.
8. Finally, let’s engage your sense of touch. Start from the surface of your skin, feeling the contact with the chair or ground beneath you. If your hands are resting against your body, simply attune your focus to that sensation. What do you observe? Feel the fabric of your clothes on your skin, the temperature of the air around you. What else goes unnoticed when you tune into these physical sensations?

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4. A Meditation to Sit With Difficult Emotions

1. Begin by settling into a comfortable position. Take a moment to adjust your posture so that you feel at ease. Acknowledge the connection between your body and the surface it’s resting on.
2. Allow yourself to fully embrace whatever feelings are present at this moment. This includes any bodily sensations, moods, emotions, or thoughts you might be experiencing. You might consider taking a few deeper breaths to help your body and mind relax and find stillness. Inhale deeply, inviting relaxation, and exhale, letting tension fade away. Fill your chest and lungs as you breathe in, then release all on the out-breath.
3. As you take each breath, welcome a sense of calmness. You could mentally repeat the word calm with each inhalation and again with each exhalation. Inhale peace, exhale worries away.
4. When you’re at ease, allow your breath to find its own natural pace, inhaling and exhaling comfortably.
5. A gentle smile can soften your expression. Smiling sends a reassuring signal to your brain and nervous system indicating safety, prompting relaxation and tranquility.
6. While maintaining a relaxed yet alert posture, reflect on a situation that is causing you stress or anxiety. This could relate to work, family issues, health concerns, financial worries, or a combination of challenges. Absorb all sensations and feelings associated with this situation without following the stream of negative thoughts. Simply observe your thoughts and let them drift away, treating them with kindness and acceptance. There may be sensations of tension, heat, or tightness—whatever arises, accept it. Embrace any emotions that surface, whether it’s fear, worry, or sadness, and allow them to be as prominent as they need to be. Give your compassionate attention to everything you’re experiencing—body, mind, and heart. Acknowledge the ebb and flow of these feelings, letting them stay for a while before passing naturally. Approach each experience with love and curiosity.
7. If thoughts like “This will never improve” or “I can’t handle everything I have to do” surface, respond with kindness. Recognize them as mere thoughts, allowing them to come and go freely. Continue to engage with your feelings compassionately. If the circumstances feel tough, acknowledge the difficulty. It might help to place a hand on your heart as a soothing gesture.
8. Encourage yourself with a gentle affirmation, such as, “May I be happy and may I find ease.” Inhale deeply and release all your worries as you exhale, nurturing your experiences with tenderness.
9. Bring your awareness to any underlying emotions that might be lurking beneath the surface. Perhaps you have hesitations about enduring sadness, grief, or worry. Allow yourself to acknowledge these emotions, welcoming them with care, and observe how they may evolve over time.
10. If you feel compelled to react negatively to an emotion, like craving unhealthy food or substance use, try to remain present with that feeling. Recognize that this impulse will also come and, eventually, subside. Picture it as a wave rising and cresting; if you ride with that wave through awareness and warmth, it may eventually lead to serenity. Acknowledge the thoughts that accompany these feelings, like, “This is overwhelming” or “I need to distance myself from this feeling,” and gently encourage yourself to remain with the feelings themselves.
11. If an emotion or sensation feels too intense, gently redirect your focus to a more neutral part of your body—perhaps your hands or feet—or think of something you appreciate or feel grateful for in your life. Let your mind rest on this positive experience for a while. Once you feel equipped, you can gradually return to exploring the initial bodily sensations with an open attitude.
12. Stay close to your direct experience and maintain kind awareness of the thoughts and narratives around your discomfort, stress, or challenging emotions. Avoid identifying with these thoughts; instead, let them surface and fade away in their own time, wrapped in kindness.
13. Conclude with a few minutes of quiet reflection, being receptive to the changing dynamics of your feelings. This mindfulness practice offers a pathway to disentangle ourselves from painful thoughts, stress, worry, anxiety, and the patterns of behavior that accompany these emotions and mental states.

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Assume a relaxed seating posture. Picture a challenging situation you are facing. It doesn’t have to be the toughest one, just something that’s moderately tough. We aim to rehearse dealing with minor difficulties before tackling the more significant ones. Now, pay attention to your urge to avoid this difficulty—whether that’s seeking comfort, like reaching out to someone, indulging in chocolate, distracting yourself with gadgets, or refusing to accept that this challenge exists.

9. Next, face it head-on. Take several deep breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. Picture a substantial presence of compassion and strength wrapping you in a comforting blanket filled with love, acceptance, and safety. This could be envisioned as a large, nurturing figure, a comforting cloud of compassion, or anything that radiates warmth and kindness. Visualize this entity cradling you.
10. Confront your difficulty directly. Stand firm and face it without fear. Feel the presence of this wise being surrounding you, softly telling you: “It will be alright, you are okay, you are worthy, you are enough, you are not alone, and we will navigate this together.” Let yourself exchange loving affirmations as often as necessary until your mind and body find calm.
11. Whenever you urge to revert to old habits of avoiding discomfort, consciously choose to confront it instead. The more you train your mind to acknowledge and identify the challenges present, the less daunting they will feel. Additionally, your limbic system and particularly your amygdala will indicate to your sympathetic nervous system that relaxation is possible.

5. A Meditation to Delve into Anxious Feelings

1. Start with a quick mindful check-in, taking a few moments to recognize how you feel physically and mentally at this moment… acknowledging whatever comes to mind and allowing it all to exist as it is. There’s nothing to fix, analyze, or resolve. Just be present with your experience.
2. Now gently focus on your breath, practicing awareness of each inhale and exhale. Notice where you feel the breath most prominently—maybe at your nostrils, in your chest, belly, or another area. There’s nowhere else to go and nothing else to do but to stay mindful of the air flowing in and out. If your thoughts drift away from focusing on the breath, gently recognize this, then guide your attention back to it.
3. Think of a particular moment of anxiety, preferably something recent that you can clearly recall. It doesn’t need to be an extreme case; you might choose something you would rate about a 5 or 6 out of 10. Picture the experience vividly and allow yourself to evoke some of that anxiety in this present moment.
4. As you visualize this experience, tune in to how the anxiety manifests in your body and remain present with those sensations. Your only responsibility now is to notice and acknowledge any physical feelings without trying to change them. Let the sensations evolve naturally, like ripples gradually merging into the larger body of water.
5. Now become aware of any emotions that surface… anxiety, fear, sadness, anger, confusion—whatever you may be feeling. Similar to how you handle physical sensations, recognize these emotions and let them exist without the need to analyze or interpret them.
6. If intense emotions don’t surface, it doesn’t mean you’re doing this meditation incorrectly. The goal is simply to acknowledge whatever you encounter in your experience and let it be. Every aspect that arises is part of the practice.
7. Recognizing your anxiety might sometimes heighten feelings of anxiousness. This is completely normal, and the intensity will likely lessen as you create room for your experiences and acknowledge them.
8. Continue to embrace your anxiety, allowing any thoughts or feelings in your body and mind to just be, nurturing balance and the strength to accept things as they are. The very act of acknowledging anxiety instead of fleeing from it is a path to healing.
9. As you keep recognizing your physical sensations and emotions, they may unveil a range of memories, thoughts, feelings, and physical experiences that may have shaped limiting beliefs about your sense of self. You might begin to see the deeper patterns that fuel your anxiety, leading to insights that could liberate you in ways you never thought possible.
10. Gradually bring your focus back to your breath, mindfully inhaling and exhaling… Then, slowly shift your awareness from your breath to your heart. Take a moment to connect with your heart through self-compassion, acknowledging your bravery in facing your anxiety. In this way, your anxiety can serve as a teacher, guiding you towards greater understanding, kindness, and inner peace.
11. As you conclude this meditation, take a moment to appreciate the time you’ve dedicated to meditating and healing yourself. Slowly open your eyes and return your consciousness to the present surroundings. May we all discover the pathways to our hearts and experience freedom.